Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central, says she did not come into politics to be a rebel. In Keir Starmer’s first test as prime minister, she chose to vote with the government’s plan to keep the two-child benefit cap in place. She had actively campaigned for it to be scrapped, but ultimately didn’t believe Labour were in government to do anything but alleviate child poverty.
But as Starmer’s policy proposals became harder for Labour MPs to digest, so Maskell’s interventions became stronger. She has since been a key voice against the cut to winter fuel payments, the cut to UK overseas aid to fund defence spending, the abolition of NHS England and the dropping of proposals to compensate Waspi women – all decisions Maskell did not feel were supported by evidence. She even raised eyebrows when she spoke out against the introduction of a VAT on private school fees.
